Table 2.

Key challenges and best practices in qualitative IB research

Key challengesBest practices for overcoming key challengesImplications for qualitative research in IB
The exploratory, inductive research straitjacketSchembri, Fletcher and Buck (2023) Ritvala, Granqvist and Piekkari (2021) Theorizing in qualitative research in IB relies on the researcher’s ability to creatively and convincingly justify connections between phenomena, data and theory
The template thinking in methodological reportingGeary and Aguzzoli (2016) The conduct and analysis of qualitative research in IB rely on making the researcher’s unique reasoning, choices and thought processes explicit and accessible in the reporting
The emphasis on propositional theorizingAmdam and Benito (2022),Niittymies, Pajunen and Lamberg (2022) Leppäaho, Jack and Plakoyiannaki (2022) Qualitative IB research embraces the emergence of alternative explanations and unexpected findings from previously overlooked sources, in a non-predetermined and open-ended manner
The positivist quality criteriaBruton et al. (2011) Yagi and Kleinberg (2011) Qualitative IB research requires criteria that critically, thoroughly and truthfully assess the quality of the study, while also acknowledging its uniqueness and distinctive characteristics
Source(s): Authors’ own work

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